Plain answers.

The Eight Ranks Method is a belt-ranked chess curriculum for learners aged 6 to adult. Eight ranks, White to Black, in four tiers: Foundation, Builder, Competitor and Master. Each Student Book is one twelve-week cycle: five chapters, five STEM labs, practice with answers, and a Family corner in every chapter.

The Eight Ranks Method is a belt-ranked chess curriculum for learners aged 6 to adult. No chess experience is needed to begin: Square One starts from zero. Children and adults can share one room: the Mixed-Rank Room Guide shows how.

Yes. Each Student Book is one twelve-week cycle: five chapters, five STEM labs, practice with answers, and a Family corner in every chapter. Ranks are awarded only at a licensed site, after its Rank Day.

Start with White, unless the learner already plays well; a licensed site can place a strong learner higher by the placement rule at entry. No chess experience is needed to begin: Square One starts from zero.

The eight colours are the names of the ranks, not something to wear: no belt, bracelet, band, pin or token is given. Each rank earned is recorded by a printed certificate and the Rank Progress Report.

Licences open after the legal review of the terms; until then, a site can register interest. Apply online; payment details come with the licence. The instructor books are printed with the site's name and mailed.

A licence does not include training, visits, calls or workshops: the materials are written to be used without them. A site confirms its own instructor with written checks and keys: a readiness check (18 of 20 to pass), one observed session, and a calibration within one level on 10 of 12 anchor samples.

For White and Yellow, a teacher needs no playing strength: the Teacher's Chess Companion, Foundation, holds the chess, and the Instructor Edition has every answer. Higher tiers add their own written check.

One instructor runs and scores Rank Day, on the same rubrics and pass rules at every site. Student leaders never score, are never alone with younger learners, and are never responsible for safety.

We do not claim chess raises grades; the research points both ways. So the method does not wait for chess to turn into math on its own: every chapter ends with a lab that makes the math explicit. The Eight Ranks Method is designed to produce evidence aligned to the six attributes of the New York State Portrait of a Graduate.

Not issued, approved or endorsed by the New York State Education Department or any school district. Schools decide how to use its reports.

The author runs no classes and makes no site appearances; every question is answered in writing.

Not at present: the Student Books are workbooks, written to be written in, so they are sold in print. Every book has a free look-inside sample, and each book is printed on demand and shipped by the printer.

Questions are answered in writing through the contact form. There is no telephone line.